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AB-1168 Noxious Weeds Management Program.(1999-2000)

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AB1168:v90#DOCUMENT

Assembly Bill No. 1168
CHAPTER 961

An act to add Article 1.7 (commencing with Section 7270) to Chapter 1 of Part 4 of Division 4 of the Food and Agricultural Code, relating to agriculture, and making an appropriation therefor.

[ Approved by Governor  October 10, 1999. Filed with Secretary of State  October 10, 1999. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1168, Frusetta. Noxious Weeds Management Program.
Existing law sets forth provisions in the Food and Agricultural Code relating to weeds and pest seeds.
This bill would designate the Department of Food and Agriculture as the lead department in noxious weed management. The bill would also create the Noxious Weed Management Account in the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund, would appropriate $500,000 for each of the following 3 fiscal years from the General Fund to the account for the 1999–2000, 2000–01, and 2001–02 fiscal years, for expenditure by the Secretary of Food and Agriculture, for the purpose of managing and eradicating noxious weeds through local weed management areas, as specified.
The bill would require the department to establish an oversight committee, with a described membership representation, to monitor the bill’s provisions and would require the department to report on or before April 1 of each year, to and including the year 2005, to the Legislature.
Appropriation: YES  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Article 1.7 (commencing with Section 7270) is added to Chapter 1 of Part 4 of Division 4 of the Food and Agricultural Code, to read:
Article  1.7. Noxious Weeds Management

7270.
 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) The destructive impact of invasive and often poisonous noxious weeds is profound, affecting California’s cropland, rangeland, forest, and parkland.
(b) These pests cause enormous losses of private, state, and federal resources through decreased land productivity, degradation of wildlife habitat, and outright destruction of crops, livestock, wetlands, waterways, watersheds, and recreational areas.
(c) These noxious weeds include, but are not limited to, yellow star thistle, purple loosestrife, leafy spurge, spotted knapweed, musk thistle, and puncture vine.
(d) The estimated lost crop productivity caused by noxious weeds is seven billion four hundred million dollars ($7,400,000,000) nationwide, a large proportion of which is attributable to California. Nationally, the direct and indirect costs of controlling noxious weeds may be as high as five billion four hundred million dollars ($5,400,000,000) annually.

7271.
 (a) The Legislature designates the Department of Food and Agriculture as the lead department in noxious weed management and the department is responsible for the implementation of this article in cooperation with the Secretary for Resources.
(b) There is hereby created in the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund the Noxious Weed Management Account.
(c) The sum of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) is hereby appropriated for each of the following three fiscal years from the General Fund to the account for the 1999–2000, 2000–01, and 2001–02 fiscal years, for expenditure by the secretary for purposes of this article.
(1) Fifteen percent of moneys in the account shall be made available toward research on the biology, ecology, or management of noxious and invasive weeds.
(2) These research moneys shall be made available to qualified researchers through a grant program administered by the department. Proposals shall be evaluated in consultation with the Range Management Advisory Committee, with emphasis placed on funding of needs-based, applied and practical research.

7272.
 (a) To be eligible to receive funding from the Noxious Weed Management Account pursuant to this article, a weed management area, as defined in subdivision (b), shall be formed in a county or other geographic area.
(b) A “weed management area” is a local organization that brings together all interested landowners, land managers (private, city, county, state, and federal), special districts, and the public in a county or other geographical area for the purpose of coordinating and combining their action and expertise to deal with their common weed control problems. The organization shall function under the authority of a mutually developed memorandum of understanding and subject to statutory and regulatory requirements. A weed management area may be voluntarily governed by a chairperson or a steering committee.
(c) Not more than 10 percent of the noxious weed management funds distributed to weed management areas subject to this section may be used for meeting, travel, administration, or other overhead costs.
(d) The secretary may appoint a noxious weed coordinator and a weed mapping specialist to assist in weed inventory, mapping, and control strategies.
(e) Each weed management area within the state shall create a cost-share plan for the integrated management of noxious weeds within that area. The plan shall be submitted to the department for review, approval, and funding.
(f) The department shall conduct private and public workshops as needed to discuss and plan weed management strategy with all interested and affected local, state and federal agencies, private landowners, educational institutions, interest groups, and county agricultural commissioners.

7273.
 (a) The department shall designate and provide staff support to an oversight committee to monitor this article and shall consider input from weed management areas and the Range Management Advisory Committee.
(b) The membership of the oversight committee shall include an equitable number of representatives from each of the following interests:
(1) Livestock production.
(2) Agricultural crop protection.
(3) Forest products industry.
(4) California Exotic Pest Plant Council.
(5) Research institutions.
(6) Wildlife sports groups.
(7) Environmental groups.
(8) Resources conservation districts.
(9) General public.

7274.
 Notwithstanding Section 7550.5 of the Government Code, the department shall submit to the Legislature an annual report on or before April 1 of each year, to and including the year 2005, highlighting the status of its efforts to abate noxious weeds in this state.

SEC. 2.

 The sum annually appropriated by Section 7272 of the Food and Agricultural Code shall be deposited in the Noxious Weed Management Account for purposes of Article 1.7 (commencing with Section 7270) of Chapter 1 of Part 4 of Division 4 of the Food and Agricultural Code.